Recap: The Mudlarkers Feb 2025

Ragabash the Rude and The Roustabout

Madame Drak's Three-Penny Mystery "The Mudlarkers" turned into a lively romp through the underground rivers of London. The ten detectives caught the Ghost Bus to the Rat Queen's palace, resulting in a harrowing encounter with a Fatberg and the Blue Eyes capturing ghosts. Fortunately, our detectives were skilled at rescuing ghosts from ghost traps, using invisibility spells like pros.

Our detectives took on the Rat Queen's quest to join Ragabash the Rude and his crew of Rabblerousers, turning themselves into rats, complete with tiny costumes for the job. Our Facebook page has photos of the wonderful crew. The work the team put into the sewing this week was impressive!

Ragabash tested our team's skills with a game of Overboard. A quick visit to the brig didn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm, as they battened hatches and hoisted the sails. They excelled at swabbing the decks, adding mops and brooms to the task with such enthusiasm that Ragabash hired them on the spot ... well, almost on the spot. They cleaned that spot so well that Ragabash hired them spotfree.

The Roustabout sailed through the sewers into the deeper levels of underground rivers, with our team on the lookout for Ragabash's nemesis, Cap'n Dreadheart. The ship encountered countless Blue Eyes flooding the caverns in search of the ghost humans who stole their captive ghosts, but our team managed to evade them each time.

They went in search of the missing treasure of Granny Dregs, Ragabash's beloved grandmother (rest in peace). She disappeared in a legendary encounter with the Blue Dragon of the Thames River. Granny-eating dragons, lost treasures, ghostly encounters, fierce battles with other treasure-seekers -- we had it all in a space of four fast-flowing days.

Did we find the lost treasure? Yes we did, but the secrets of when and how must be kept so future detectives can run this adventure again. Let's just say that some rats were tickled pink to discover the sparkly meaning of the treasure -- and Ragabash is now learning court etiquette to give up his oh-so-rude ways.

Thank you to the detectives for a lively week of fun! The rats they made were inspiring, and I can't wait for their pirate mischief in future adventures.

Session IA: Ragabash the Rude

The Serpent's Tooth
in its raw form waiting for
the scrimshaw map

Session 1A has been added to the summer 2014 adventures as an additional mystery for ages 6 - 9. The mystery for this week is "Ragabash the Rude." A missing scrimshaw on an old sea serpent’s tooth leads the Detectives on a one-of-a-kind journey aboard The Roustabout, the ship carrying the notorious Ragabash the Rude and his band of pirates known as the Rabblerousers.

There are two paths through this adventure and the group much choose between them: Infiltrate the pirate and follow the story disguised as Rabblerousers or join Ragabash's nemesis, Captain Blunderbuss and the crew of The Gusty Gull. Either path leads to trouble on the seven seas, so our Detectives better have their wits and their sea legs about them!

Our art projects depend on the path the Detectives choose--pirate bandanas or British Navy tricorn hats. We'll be the best-dressed sailors on the campus this week. We will also be making our own scrimshaw serpent's teeth.

Ragabash the Rude: An Additional Adventure for Ages 6 - 9

Compass rose from a pirate map
by R L McNulty
Colored pencil on paper

With the first session nearly full (one space left) and requests coming for additional weeks for our youngest detectives, Dragon's Eye Ventures is adding one more week to the summer offering for ages 6 - 9. Session IA will run from July 7 through July 11 as a five-day mystery.

The adventure fee is $250, and After Hours is $50. If you have already registered, just print out the second sheet of the new registration form and send that along with the payment.

Our mystery this week will be "Ragabash the Rude"--a wonderful romp on the seven seas with Ragabash the Rude, captain of The Roustabout and leader of a crew of pirates known as the Rabblerousers.